Archive for the 'Albert Pujols' Tag Under 'Angels' Category

Some light reading and a cool summer snack. That's why we scribes show up to the ballpark four hours early.

Trader Joe's, you should pay attention, because you really need to stock up on these little green fruits the Latin American players on the Angels were gobbling up like candy before the game.

They go by different names depending on what Caribbean country they're grown in: In Puerto Rico they're called quenepa, in Venezuela they're mamon, and in Cuba they're mamoncillo.

In the clubhouse, Albert Pujols, Kendrys Morales and other players born in Latin America devoured them, splitting open the green skin to get at the orange, nectarine-like fruit inside, then spitting out the pit.

Mike Trout did it again. With a little help from his friends, including a gimpy Albert Pujols.

Torii Hunter's sacrifice fly with one out in the bottom of the ninth brought Alberto Callaspo home, giving the Angels a thrilling 6-5 victory over the Red Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium.

It was a win the Angels absolutely needed. With Oakland and Baltimore both winning, the Angels stayed 4.5 games behind in the wild-card race.

The Angels battled back from down 5-2 with two runs in the sixth, but it looked as if the Red Sox would stop the bleeding there. Boston reliever Alfredo Aceves, coming off a three-game suspension by the team for a clubhouse outburst last week, was not allowed on the team charter, arriving in Orange County on a commercial flight. But he was calm enough to pitch a perfect eighth.

He unraveled in the ninth. With one out, he hit Erick Aybar with a pitch, and Aybar then stole second. Aceves walked Alberto Callaspo, then came Trout.

Albert Pujols strained his right calf running from second to third base during the fourth inning of last Wednesday night's game against the Red Sox. He later scored, and the Angels won 7-3, but Pujols missed the next four games. (Photo by James Rogash, Getty Images)

Albert Pujols returned to the Angels' lineup Tuesday night as the designated hitter against Boston to open a three-game series at Angel Stadium. He missed the previous four games after straining his right calf running the bases against the Red Sox at Fenway Park last Wednesday.

Pujols said his leg was "still sore" but feels better than it did in Detroit, where the Angels lost two out of three with him on the bench.

"It's something that's progressing every day, but I think I feel pretty good -- good enough to go out there and play," he said before the game. "I felt like that in Detroit too, but they told me, 'Let's give it a couple of more days, and it should be feeling better, and here we are today."

Pujols said he'll have to run more carefully than usual so he doesn't aggravate the injury.

Last Christmas, a lot of kids (and their parents) found a brand-new Albert Pujols No. 5 jersey with the word "Angels" on the front waiting for them under the tree.

This summer, Angels fans are treating themselves to Mike Trout No. 27 jerseys. And foam fish heads, and cute little Trout "Oyo" figures (see below). And at least seven other Trout items on sale at 18 or so stores at Angel Stadium, including the two main ones near the front entrance, on the Field and Terrace levels.

Stuff with Trout's name, number or likeness now accounts for 60 percent of the player-related merchandise sold at the Big A stores. Pujols accounts for 30 percent. Jered Weaver, Mark Trumbo, Torii Hunter and everyone else on the team? The other 10 percent.

"It's crazy," said Martin Marin, senior retail manager for the Angels. "A lot of people had the Pujols gear when he first signed on (Dec. 8). Trout is the hot thing right now."

Angels first baseman Albert Pujols told manager Mike Scioscia "I'm ready to play, man" as he went out to test his injured calf by doing some running on the field before Saturday's game.

But shortly after he came back into the clubhouse, the lineup was posted without Pujols' name in it for the third consecutive day. Scioscia indicated the plan now is to keep Pujols on the bench again Sunday as well. With the Angels off Monday, that would give Pujols' injured right calf five days to heal before possibly returning to the lineup on Tuesday at home against the Red Sox.

"Right now where he is ... it's not setting up well enough to where you're comfortable with him going out there and playing with a governor on," Scioscia said. "We're going to take advantage of these two days and the off day, hopefully move him forward and see where he is on Tuesday.

"Right now the risk is still there to have him try to play with such a governor on. We'll wait a couple days and see where he is on Tuesday."

Pujols injured his calf while running the bases on Wednesday. An MRI revealed inflammation but no structural damage high in the calf near the back of his right knee. Pujols spent two weeks on the DL with a strained calf muscle in his left leg in June 2008.

Angels first baseman Albert Pujols said his injured right calf was "feeling better" again Friday. He is not in the lineup for the second consecutive night but was optimistic that he would be ready to play again on Saturday.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia was more cautious in his assessment and indicated it was unlikely Pujols would even be used as a pinch-hitter at this point -- although Pujols did take batting practice with the team.

"He was in treatment a number of times today and we'll see how this sets up," Scioscia said. "We want him to get this behind him.

"Right now, it is affecting his stance in the batter's box and that is something that would probably stop him from (pinch-hitting)."

Angels first baseman Albert Pujols underwent an MRI on his injured right calf this afternoon. The exam revealed only inflammation and no strains or tears.

He is not in the lineup tonight and is considered day-to-day for the series in Detroit starting Friday.

Pujols was 8 for his past 19 before leaving Wednesday's game in the fourth inning with the calf injury. He has home runs in four of his past eight games, a major-league-leading 14 since the All-Star break and a .747 slugging percentage over his past 21 games -- not to mention 35 RBI since the break and 77 in his past 91 games.

The Angels collected 15 hits on their way to a second consecutive victory at Fenway Park, 7-3, over the Boston Red Sox Wednesday night.

The back-to-back wins guarantee a series win for the Angels, only their second since July 23-25.

The offense started from the bottom up. The final four hitters in the the Angels lineup -- Howie Kendrick, Maicer Izturis, Erick Aybar and Chris Iannetta -- combined to go 10 for 16 with a double and a home run by Kendrick, and a triple by Iannetta. They scored six of the Angels' seven runs and drove in three.

That was enough offense to help Jered Weaver snap his first two-start losing streak since May 2011. Weaver went seven innings, allowing just two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out five. That ran his record to 16-3 (tying him with David Price, Johnny Cueto and Gio Gonzalez for the major-league lead in wins).

Angels first baseman Albert Pujols had a single and a double in his first two at-bats but left the game in the fourth inning with tightness in his right calf.

Albert Pujols certainly didn't look like a guy who needed some time off as he trotted around the bases on his three-run home run Tuesday night. But Angels manager Mike Scioscia saw it differently.

Pujols is not in the lineup tonight, only the fourth time in the Angels' 118 games he has not been in the starting lineup.

"Last night, he was a little tired after the game," Scioscia said. "Hopefully, he'll get recharged. Just like anybody, he needs a day off once in awhile."

Pujols dismissed questions about the lineup. But it is an oddly-timed rest day. After going 1 for 24 in Oakland and at home against the Mariners -- including 12 hitless at-bats while the Angels lost two of three to the Mariners -- Pujols was 4 for 8 with six RBI and homers in each of the first two games against the Indians.

The Angels are now 19-3 in games when he has more than one RBI, 19-6 when he hits a home run.

More than two-thirds of the way into his first season as the main man in the Angels' lineup, Albert Pujols has been productive -- but he has not had any defining moments where he seemed to lift the team to a victory.

Nonetheless, one set of numbers seem to give a strong indication that when Pujols hits the Angels win and when he doesn't, they don't.

Stats LLC did the breakdown:

In games the Angels won, Pujols has hit .345 with a .415 on-base percentage, .655 slugging percentage, 18 home runs and 57 RBI.